"We need a hobby."

My wife April and I decided one day that we needed something else in our lives besides our work that is not just sitting around staring at a TV; something that would get us out of the house and allow us to meet people and enjoy the fine scenery that is the Carolinas.

The Idea.

We thought a little bit about it and decided we would visit every barbecue restaurant within 100 miles of Rock Hill, South Carolina. Where shall we go? We started out by deciding on the places we would NOT include. Unfortunately, fire department barbecue was excluded. While it is tasty it isn’t necessarily consistent and sometimes very hard to find. A tour of NC/SC fire department barbecue could be a quest in itself.

You have to have a good base....

We both grew up eating local barbecue in our home towns and tend to hold all others to their high standard. So we decided to focus on restaurants that specialized in barbecue. We prefer the family owned joints to the chains, but agreed that even the chains deserved a visit and fair review. Each restaurant has to have its own smoker or pit. Homemade sauces, while delicious are not a requirement. We are both much more interested in the taste of the smoked meat without sauce at first. Sauces should add to the smoked flavor of the meat not change it dramatically or hide it.